现在大学英语精读第二版1 (unit1-unit6)教案

Lesson One Half a Day

I. Teaching Objectives

In this unit, you will

a)learn some information about the author and the text

b)catch the plot, setting and the theme after reading the story quickly

c)analyze the main characters of the text

d)know the intention of the author to write the story

e)paraphrase some difficult sentences from the story

f)pick out the good use of language

II. Main Contents

1. Warm-up activities

2. About the writer and the text

3. Plot, setting and theme of the story

4. Text appreciation

5. Detail information of the text

6. Reading of the text B

7. Elliptical question & rhetorical question and Inverted sentences

8. Finish off all the exercises

III. Main Focus and Points

Oral practice, analysis of the characters, language focus on actions

IV. Teaching Methods

a) Student-centered and task-based teaching methods

b) Reflective study and autonomous learning

V. Reference

Websites about the writer and the story

Teacher’s book

VI. Exercises and Practice

Finish the exercises in the textbook

Recite some parts of the text.

VII. Further thinking

"Who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind”

After reading “Half a Day”, how do you understand the comment on Naguib Mahfouz?

Great works never fail to reveal the common human experience.

After reading the story, do you feel emotionally or spiritually touched? Why or why not?

IX. Teaching Procedure

Picture Talking for Warming-up

Today, we will study Half a day by Naguib Mahfouz. Let’s first appreciate The Persistence of Memory, 1931by Salvador Dali (萨尔瓦多-达利的油画《记忆的永恒》). Can you find any clue about life and time from the picture? Do you know any sayings or quotes wise enough to express your feelings? I will write down a couple on the blackboard as hints.

Let’s categorize the sayings and quotes according to the i mplications they carry. Hopefully, some expressions may help you better understand the story Half a Day, and meanwhile, you will find it excellent to have lots to express yourself in both writing and speaking.

More quotes and sayings of time and life:

If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.

--Lee Iacocca

Nothing is worth more than this day.

--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Every second is of infinite value.

--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.

--Will Rogers

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.

--H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

--William Penn

课前口头描述图画练习

由口头描述相关图画入手，以了解学生预习课文内容的深度，提高学生描述场景的口语表达能力，帮助学生把扩充词汇量和在具体情景中使用词汇有机结合起来。课前有趣的话题、竞争的气氛和合作的态度也有助于加快学生进入最佳的学习状态。

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.

--Henry David Thoreau

But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each

moment is a day.

--Benjamin Disraeli Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.

--Dion Boucicault The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something.

--Carl Sandburg

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

--Annie Dillard

Make today the first day of the rest of your life.

The only thing constant is change.

“Time lost is time when we have not lived a full human life, time unenriched by experience, creative endeavor, enjoyment, and

suffering.” --Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Be mindful of how you approach time. Watching the clock is not the same as

watching the sun rise."-- Sophia Bedford-Pierce

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.

--Emily Dickinson:

Background Information

I. Naguib Mahfouz——Education & Background 教育与背景

Naguib Mahfouz was born on the 11th Dec. 1911 in an old quarter of Cairo, the youngest son of a merchant. He studied philosophy at King Faud I (now Cairo) University, graduating in 1934. He worked in university administration and then in 1939 he worked for the Mini-stry of Islamic Affairs. He was later Head of the State Cinema Organisation at the Ministry of Culture. He also worked as a journalist. Although widely translated, his works are not available in most Middle Eastern countries because of his support of Sadat's Camp David initiative. In 1994 he survived an assassination attempt by Islamic extremists.

背景知识

通过问答和讲解的方式，帮助学生了解:

纳吉布?马福兹所受教育和一般背景;

He is married, has two daughters and lives in Cairo.

II. Naguib Mahfouz —— important works （主要著作）

纳吉布?马福兹的主要著作:阿拉伯世界的第一位诺贝尔文学奖获得者;

Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arab to win the Nobel prize for literature, in 1988. He has been described as "a Dickens of the Cairo cafés" and "the Balzac of Egypt".

He is now the author of no fewer than 30 novels, more than 100 short stories, and

more than 200 articles. Half of his novels have been made into films which have circulated throughout the Arabic-speaking world.

Mahfouz began writing when he was 17. His first novel was published in 1939 and ten more were written before the Egyptian Revolution of July 1952, when he stopped writing for several years. One novel was republished in 1953, however, and the appearance of The Cairo Trilogy in 1957 made him famous throughout the Arab world as a depictor of traditional urban life.

Works of his second writing period:

The Children of Gebelawi (1959)

The Thief and the Dogs (1961)

Autumn Quail (1962)

Small Talk on the Nile (1966)

Miramar (1967)

several collections of short stories.

III. Naguib Mahfouz —— How he pictures the world (创作观)

纳吉布?马福兹笔下的世界: 无尽的拼搏与悲剧的人生

The picture of the world as it emerges from the bulk of Mahfouz's work is very gloomy indeed, though not completely despondent. It shows that the author's social utopia is far from being realized.

Mahfouz seems to conceive of time as a metaphysical force of oppression. His novels have consistently shown time as the bringer of change, and change as a very painful process, and very often time is not content until it has dealt his heroes the final blow of death.

To sum up, in Mahfouz's dark tapestry of the world there are only two bright spots.

These consists of man's continuing struggle for equality on the one hand and the promise of scientific progress on the other; meanwhile, life is a tragedy.

Text Appreciation （作品赏析）

I. Structure of the text (10 minutes) （结构分析）

The text can be conveniently divided into three parts. In the first part (para.1-7), we learn about the boy’s misgivings about school. He found it hard to be away from home and mom, and thought school was punishment. The second part (para.8-16) describes how the boy felt about school. He found that life at school was rich and colorful in many ways, although it also required discipline and hard work. In the last part of the text, the boy walked out of the school to find that the outside world had changed beyond measure and that he had grown into an old man.

II．How to appreciate literature (15 minutes) （如何赏析文学作品）Plot of the story:

Setting of the story:

Protagonist v.s. Antagonists:

Drama of the story lies in:

Writing technique: (Have you ever read a story using the similar technique?)

Theme of the story:

Language Understanding

I. Sentence Paraphrase (20 minutes)

1. I walked along side ny father, clutching his right hand.

Clutching his right hand: this is a present participle used to modify the main verb “walked”, showing manner in which the narrator walked. E.g.

My mother stood at the window watching our progress…

I turned towards her from time to time, hoping she would help.

“I’m not punishing you,” he said, laughing.

The bell rang, announcing the passing of the day and the end of work.

2. They did not make me happy, : I wasn’t happy as I usually was when I had new clothes to wear.

What does “they” refer to? Here “they” refers to the narrator’s new clothes

3…as this was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time…. Because it was the day I started school.

What does the narrator imply by using “to be thrown into school”?

The writer uses “ to be thrown into school” to show that the little boy in the story didn’t want to go to school. He was forced by his father to do so. This is not a common collocation. A common collocation with “to be thrown into ( an unpleasant place)” is “ to be thrown into prison/jail”

Cf. to throw sb. out (of a place): to force sb. to leave a place, e.g.

They’ll throw me out (of school) if I fail three exams.

4. My mother stood at the window watching our progress, and I turned towards her from time to time, hoping she would help.

What does “progress” mean here?

Our progress: our slow and difficult movement towards the school. (My mother was anxious to know how my father would get me to go.)

From time to time: sometimes, but not very often, e.g.

He goes to see his grandparents from time to time, about five or six times a year. Hoping she would help: hoping she would stop my father taking me to school, or talk to my father so that he would change his mind about sending me to school. Question: What does the sentence tell us about the boy’s relationships with his parents?

It seems that the boy was closer to his mother. Probably his mother was gentle while his father was strict.

5. a street lived with gardens

…a street where there are gardens … along both sides

lined with …: past participle phrase used here to modify “a street”. It can be

regarded as a relative clause cut short, eg.

a novel (that was) written by Charles Dickens

personal computers (that are) made in China

6.Why school: Why do I have to go to school? Why are you going to throw me into school?

This is an elliptical question. Such questions are common in conversation. E.g.

a. Headmaster: We want you to go and tell the boy’s parents the news.

T: What me?

b. Father: We’ll go to Tianjin this weekend.

Daughter: What for? (Why the weekend?/ Why Tianjin?)

7. What have I done?

I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong to be punished like this.

( Little children often think that taking them away from Mom is the worst punishment.)

This is a rhetorical question --- one that expresses strong feeling or opinion and doesn’t require an answer. It is used to say something more positively that in a statement.

8. It’s a place that makes useful men out of boys.

to make…(out) of sb. /sth.: to make sb./sth. become…, e.g.

The army made a man of him. 军队把他培养成了个男子汉。

Hardships help make a man (out) of a boy.

I don’t think you can make a football star (out) of Johnny.

9. Don’t you want to be useful like your brother?

难道你不想像你的哥哥们那样成为有用的人吗？

This is also a rhetorical question. More examples:

Can’t you see I’m busy? (Don’t disturb me!)

What good is a promise for an unemployed worker? (An empty promise is useless for an unemployed worker.)

Does nothing ever worry you? ( I don’t understand how you can be so carefree.)

10. I did not believe there was really any good to be had in tearing me away from my home and throwing me into the huge, high-walled building. : I didn’t think it was useful to take me away from home and put me into that building with high walls. (The school building looked like a prison to the boy.)

It is no good/use doing sth. or There is no good / use to be had in doing sth. : It is not useful to do sth. More examples:

It’s no good crying over spilt milk (proverb)

It’s no use talking to him.

to tear oneself / sb. away from…: to (make sb. ) leave a place or a person unwillingly because one has to , e.g.

Can’t you tear yourself away from the TV for dinner?

The young artist couldn’t tear himself away from da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

11. … we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls.

Vast and full of boys and girls :This adjective phrase modifies “the courtyard”.

When used as an attributive modifier, adjective phrases are often placed after the noun they quality.

There’s nothing wrong with the computer.

It’s something important to my family.

Can you recommend some books easy f or freshmen to read?

12. go in by yourself…: Go into the school along… (I’m not going with you.)

by oneself: alone; without anyone else

13. Put a smile on your face…: Make an effort to smile…

14 clung to his hand: held his hand tightly

15. “Be a man,” he said. “Today you truly begin life.”: Be brave,” he said “Your life begins today.”(This means that your carefree days are gone forever. Starting from today, you’ve got something important to do--- to learn and to prepare yourself for your career.)

man: a person who is strong and brave or has other qualities that people think are characteristic of males, e.g.

Mrs. Baker found that her daughter was more a man than her son was.

贝克太太发现她的女儿比儿子更具有男子汉的气质。

Cf. to be man enough to do sth./ for sh.): to be strong or brave enough, e.g.

He is not man enough to accept his failures gracefully.

16. You will find me waiting for you when It’s time to leave.: I’ll come to fetch you when school is over. I’ll be waiting for you here at the gate.

Here the present participle “waiting for you” is used as object complement

17. Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view.: Then I could see the faces of the boys and girls.

to come into view: to begin to be seen, e.g.

As soon as we turned the corner, the palace came into view.

18. I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way.:In this strange place, I felt confused and didn’t know what to do

to lose one’s way: to become lost, e.g.

The boys lost their way in the forest.

19. I did not know that to say.

“Question word + to do” can often be used as the object of certain verbs, e.g.

Before so many books I didn’t know which to choose.

20. to burst into tears: to begin to cry

21. A lady came along, followed by a group of men.

Probably the lady was the headmaster of the school.

Followed by a group of men: a past participle phrase that tells us how the lade came (or in what manner the lade came)

22. The men began sorting us into ranks. : The men began arranging us into lines/ rows.

23. We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard…:

We were made to stand in different places to form regular lines or shapes in the big courtyard…

24.… from each floor we were overlooked by a long balcony roofed in wood.: …on one side of the courtyard was a building with a long wood-roofed balcony on each floor where we could be seen. (From the balcony on each floor of the building people could see the pattern into which we formed)

25. Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis.: Well, perhaps my doubt, worry and fear about what school would be like were all groundless ( without good reasons). / well, it seemed that I was wrong to think that school was a dreadful place. 26．From the first moments I made many friends and fell in love with many girls.: When I found school was a nice place to be in, I began to behave like a man--- making friends and falling in love.

This is humorous remark to suggest that the boy’s attitude towards school changed a great deal.

27. I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences.:I had never thought life at school would be so colorful and interesting.

28…. we were told the story of the Creator of the universe.: … we were cold how God created the world in 7 days.

The Creator: God

29…. Woke up to go on with friendship and love, playing and learning.: after the nap, we continued our business at school---making friends, falling in love, playing and learning.

To go on with sth….: to continue an activity, esp. after a pause or break, e.g.

Let’s go on with it after the lunch break.

“To go on with…” is an infinitive phrase of result, denoting the “result” of the action expressed by the main verb “woke up”. Note the difference between the infinitive of result and that of purpose.

They lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet. (Of result)

他们搬起石头砸自己的脚

He picked up a stone to hit the attacking snake. (Of purpose)

30. Our path, however, was not totally sweet and unclouded. : School life wasn’t just fun and pleasure. (There were serious tasks and unpleasant thing, too)

31. It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around.: What we did at school wasn’t just playing and wasting time doing nothing useful.

all: adv. Completely

a matter of sth./ of doing sth.: a situation that involves sth. or depends on sth., e.g. Learning is a matter of seeing much, suffering much and studying much.

Wisdom is a matter of knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech.

Some people like pop music while others prefer serious music. It’s a matter of taste.

to fool around: to waste time instead of doing sth, that you should be doing 32．Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred, or give rise to fighting. : When two or more boys fell in love with the same girl, it might cause the boys to suffer, or to hate each other, or to fight.

to bring about sth. : to make sth. happen, e.g.

Science has brought about many changes in our lives.

The war brought about great human sufferings.

to give rise to: (formal) to cause sth. to happen or exist, e.g.

Poor living conditions give rise to many diseases.

33. And while the lady would sometimes smile, she would often yell and scold.: Thought the lade sometimes smiled at us, she often shouted at us and scolded us. “Would” here is used to show that a past action occurs pretty often.

“While” here is a conjunction of concession.

While I did well in class , I was poor at sports.

While I understand what you say, I can’t agree with you.

34. Even more frequently she would resort to physical punishment.: She used physical punishment more than she scolded us.

physical punishment: something that causes physical pain or discomfort to the pupils, such as whipping or making a pupil stand in corner of the classroom. It was a common practice in the old days when people believe in “spare the rod, spoil the child”.

To resort to sth. : to make use of sth.; to turn to sth. (esp. sth. bad) as a solution, e.g. Try not to resort to violence.

They had to resort to threats when they failed to persuade them to leave.

35. In addition, the time for changing one’s mind was over and gone and there was no question of ever returning to the paradise of home.:Besides, it was impossible for us to quit school and return to the good old days when we stayed home playing and fooling around all day. Our childhood was gone, never to come back. There is no question (of sth. happening / sb. doing sth.): there is no possibility, e.g. There is no question of their dismissing you at the moment.

36. Nothing lay ahead of us but exertion, struggle, and perseverance.: We would have to do our best and keep working very hard until we finished school. This is what I imagined our school days would be like. Or The kind of life that was waiting for us at school would be full of exertion, struggle and perseverance.

but exertion, struggle, and perseverance:This prepositional phrase modifies “nothing”. Normally such phrases are placed right after “nothing”, but that would make the subject of the sentence too long.

nothing but: only, e.g.

Right now he thinks about nothing but his research.

She ate nothing but an apple for lunch.

37. Those who were able took advantage of the opportunities for success and happiness that presented themselves. to present itself/ themselves: If there came opportunities, capable students would seize them to achieve success and happiness.

to take advantage of sth.: to make use of sth. (such as an opportunity) well, e.g.

We must take full advantage of our trip to Britain.

The farmer took advantage of the good weather and got all the wheat in.

Warning: “to take advantage of sb.”means “to treat sb. unfairly to get what one wants”.

to present itself / themselves: (formal) to appear, happen, e.g.

When the chance to study at Harvard presented itself, I jumped at it.

38. I said goodbye to friends and sweethearts and passed through the gate. : I aid goodbye to friends and the girls I had fallen in love with and went out of the gate. 39. in vain: uselessly; without a successful result, e.g.

His parents tried in vain to persuade him to quit smoking.

40. on one’s own: alone; without help, e.g.

Today young people like to live on their own.

The first thing you’ve got to do at college is to learn how to work on your own. 41…. Came to a startled halt.: (I) stopped, greatly surprised

To come to a halt: to stop, e.g.

The car came to a halt before it hit an old man.

Work came to halt when power /electricity was suddenly cut.

Cf. to bring sth. to a halt: to cause sth. to stop, e.g.

Air traffic in the country was brought to a halt by heavy snowstorms.

42. When did all these cars invade it?: When did all these cars come into the street?/ When did so many cars appear in the street?

to invade: to enter a place in large numbers, especially in a way that causes confusion 43. How did these hills of rubbish find their way to cover its side?: How did the street come to be covered with so much rubbish on both sides? Where did they come from?

(sth.) to find one’s way: to arrive or get to a place

44. High buildings had taken over…:

High buildings now stood where there used to be fields that bordered the street…45. … here and there stood conjurers showing off their tricks, or making snakes appear from baskets.

This is an inverted sentence. The subject is “conjurers”; the main verb is “stood”. Inversion occurs because the subject is too long. The two present participle phrases “showing…” and “making…” modify the subject “conjurers”.

46. Then there was a band announcing the opening of a circus…announcing…: that was announcing…

47. … with clowns and weight lifters walking in front.

The “with =noun=doing” construction is used adverbially modifying “announcing”48. … but the stream of cars would not let up.: … but it looked as if the line of moving cars would never stop.

to let up: (inform) (of an unpleasant situation) to stop or to become less serious

49. Extremely irritated, I wondered when I would be able to cross. : I was very angry and didn’t know when I could cross the street.

The past participle phrase “extremely irritated” denotes the state the boy, or the old man was in when he was waiting to cross the street.

Word study (20 minutes)

1. to make sb./sth. (out) of sb./sth.

I t’s a place that makes useful men out of boys.

(make boys become useful men)

eg.

The army made a man of him.

He said the Government were frightened of nothing. The real trouble was we were making a mountain out of a molehill.

2. There is no good to be had in doing sth.

It is no good/use doing sth.

There is no good to be had in buying a boat when you don’t have enough spare time to use it.

It’s no good crying over spilt milk.

It is worth doing well what is worth doing.

it is no (not much) good

it is no (not any, hardly any, little) use

it is useless

it is not the slightest use

it is worth(worthwhile)

there is no (no good, no use)

There is no denying that women are playing an important role in the world today. 3. to tear sb. away from a place

to (make sb.) leave a place or a person unwillingly because one has to

eg.

Can’t you tear yourself away from the TV for dinner?

I found the program absolutely fascinating. I couldn’t tear myself away—even to

finish an urgent e-mail.

4. to cling to sth.

to hold tightly; not release one’s grip on

eg.

The little child clung to his mother for comfort.

Some of the victims of the fire climbed out of the building, clung to the window ledges for a minute or two and then dropped to their death a hundred feet below.

She still clings to the belief that her son is alive.

5. burst into (tears, sobs; laughter, a guffaw, song)

begin, suddenly and/or violently, to cry, laugh, sing etc.

eg.

Aunt Annabel, who has been nervous and jumpy lately, suddenly burst into tears.

As the comic got into his stride, the audience burst into hoots of laughter.

cf.

The aircraft turned on its back and burst into flames.

The orchards seemed to have burst into blossom overnight.

I mentioned the incident later to a tailor friend and he burst out laughing/crying. 6．sort people into ranks

put ... in order; arrange

They sorted the apples according to size into large ones and small ones.

cf.

She spent a happy afternoon sorting out her coins and stamps.

It’s no good standing back and waiting for things to sort themselves out.

7．to resort to

to make use of ; to turn to sth. (esp. sth. bad) as a solution

eg. Terrorists resorted to bombing city centers as a means of achieving their political aims.

These are means we have never resorted to to obtain information.

8．to present oneself

to appear, happen

eg. When the chance to study at Harvard presented itself, I jumped at it.

He was ordered to present himself at the chairman’s office at nine o’clock next morning.

Guess the word meaning

They unwrapped their Christmas presents.

His wife presented him with a brand-new baby girl.

His sudden resignation presents us with a tricky situation.

The National Theatre is presenting“King Lear” next month.

It was unfair to discuss his case if he wasn’t present.

Preposition exercises

Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions.

The change of air is particularly beneficial _______ her health.

He is now convinced ______ the truth of the report.

Please do not be irritated _______ his bad manners since he is merely trying to attract attention.

The old woman is unbearably curious _______ other people’s business.

Prefixes

Fill in the blanks with proper words having the required prefix. After class, study such words as much as possible.mis-= wrong(ly), bad(ly), ill (misgiving…)

1. The irresponsible of a drunken driver resulted in an accident.

2. ___________ never come singly.

3. I like your plan in principle; my only is that it may take too long to carry out.

4. How can we clear up the between the two families?

Fill in the blanks with proper words having the required prefix. After class, study such words as much as possible.

Writing devices

Elliptical question & rhetorical question 省略疑问句和修辞疑问句“Why school?” I asked my father. “What have I done?”

A: Headmaster: We want you to go and tell the boy’s parents th e news.

B: Teacher: Why me?

Father: We’ll go to Tianjin this weekend.

Daughter: What for?/ Why this weekend?/Why Tianjin?

Don’t you want to be useful like your brothers?

Can’t you see I’m busy? (Don’t disturb me!)

What good is a promise for an unemployed worker?

Does nothing ever worry you?

Please give more examples.

Inverted sentences倒装句

… here and there stood conjurers showing off their tricks, or making snakes appear from baskets.

Conjurers stood everywhere. They were showing off their tricks or making snakes appear from baskets.

More examples:

There are some exceptions to this reaction.

Were there no air on the earth, there would be no life on it.

In no case should we waste our time.

There goes the bell.

Away hurried the customers.

“with” abso lute structure“with”独立结构

Then there was a band ..., with clowns and weight lifters walking in front. More examples:

He stood there with a stick in his hand. (with + n. + prep.)

Paul soon fell asleep with the light still burning. (with + n. + participle)

She can’t go out with all these dishes to wash. (with + n. + to do.)

He was lying on the bed with all his clothes on. (with + n. + adv. )

Textbook exercises

1. In-class news report

2. In-class dictation

2．P.11-P. 21 (Contemporary College English 1)

Lesson Two The Boy and the Bank Officer

I. Teaching Objectives

In this unit, you will

1) learn some background information of Philip Ross

2)get to know the history of banks

3)try to get the main idea of the text through dividing it into three parts.

4) learn to design questions according to the comprehension of the text

5)get to know the figurative speech— simile

6) pick out the words, expressions and sentences in the text that are related to gardening.

h)master the words and expressions listed in the textbook.

II. Main Contents and Time Distribution

1．About the text

2．Text appreciation

3．Language Points

4．Reading Skill

5．Difficult Sentences

6．Guided Writing

7．Class discussion

8．Assignment

III. Main Focus and Points

Oral practice: turn the story into a short play and act it out.

IV. Extensive Study:

The Son from American

V. Teaching Methods

a) Student-centered and task-based teaching methods

b) Reflective study and autonomous learning

VI. Reference

a)Websites about the history of banks

b) Teacher’s book

VII. Exercises and Practice

Finish the exercises in the textbook

Find more information of Philip Ross

VIII. Further thinking

1) How do you understand the author’s friend’s attitude toward banks?

2)What can banks do for us? And what about churches?

3) Are there any differences and similarities between banks and churches?

4) What do you think of the ending of the story? What effect may it bring to the story? Discuss with your partner the phenomenon of “School Bully” in both foreign countries and China. Analyze its reasons and make certain suggestions on its solution. Background Information

A. Banks

Banks first emerged in the Middle Ages when people grew tired of carrying around all their gold and began leaving their money with the goldsmith. The Medici family, one of the most prominent banking families in Europe during this time, became quite wealthy from its banking and money lending practices. This 14th-century painting depicts people depositing and withdrawing money in an Italian bank.

Italian Banking in the 14th Century

B. History of Banks

Functions performed by banks today have been carried out by individuals, families, or state officials for at least 4,000 years. Clay tablets dated from about 2000 BC indicate that the Babylonians deposited personal valuables for a service charge of one 60th of their worth. Interest charges on loans ran as high as one third.

The widespread commerce of Rome required a well-developed banking system. Roman authorities set aside the Street of Janus in the Forum for money changers. These individuals not only bought and sold foreign coins; they accepted deposits, made loans, issued bills of exchange and bills of credit (similar to today's checks), and bought mortgages.

The Justinian Code of the 6th century AD included laws that governed the lending and trading in money. During the Middle Ages banking activities were curbed by severe restrictions on lending practices. But during the early Renaissance, as international trade revived, Italian money changers once again appeared. They did business in the streets from a bench (banca in Italian; hence the word bank).

Florence, Italy, became a great banking center, dominated by the Medici family.

A 16th century painting depicts a money changer and his wife

Banking as it is now practiced dates from the Banco di Rialto, founded in Venice in 1587. It accepted demand deposits and permitted depositors to transfer their credits by checks. It could not make loans, however, or pay interest on deposits. Its services were free since its expenses were paid by the city. The Banco Giro was formed in

Venice in 1619. The two banks merged in 1637 and continued to operate under the name Banco Giro until Napoleon liquidated it in 1806.

Built in the style of ancient Greek temple, the Bank of United States had its headquarters in Philadelphia. It was the nation’s first experiment with central banking

With the growth of commerce and trade in Northern Europe, the Netherlands became an international financial center. The Bank of Amsterdam was organized in 1609. A chartered public bank was opened in Sweden in 1656. It was probably the first financial institution in the world to issue standard-size payable-on-demand bank bills, which eliminated the handling of copper coins. This bank was merged with the Bank of Sweden in 1668.

Until the founding of the Bank of England in 1694, England's goldsmiths were its first bankers. They kept money and other valuables in safe custody for their customers. They also dealt in gold bullion and foreign exchange. They profited from acquiring and sorting coins of all kinds. To attract coins, the smiths were willing to pay interest.

The goldsmiths noticed that deposits remained at a fairly steady level over long periods of time. Deposits and withdrawals tended to balance each other because customers only wanted enough money on hand to meet everyday needs. This allowed the smiths to loan out at interest cash that would otherwise be idle. From this practice emerged the modern facets of banking: keeping deposits, making loans, and maintaining reserves. Another practice of the goldsmiths, by which a customer could arrange to transfer part of his balance to another party by written order, was the start of the modern check-writing system.

Banks of the 17th century also began to issue bank notes as a form of money. The notes had monetary value because they could be exchanged for specie: hard cash in the form of gold or silver. The amounts of the bank notes issued depended on a banker's expectation of public demand for specie and the bank's confidence in itself. Bank notes were probably first issued in the 1660s by the Bank of Stockholm in Sweden; the practice soon spread to England.

The Bank of France was founded in 1800. For most of the 19th century the money markets of Europe were dominated by the House of Rothschild.

Background: Churches and churchgoers

As for the British churchman, he goes to church as he goes to the bathroom, with the minimum of fuss and no explanation if he can help it.

---Ronald Blythe, British writer.

The British churchgoer prefers a severe preacher because he thinks a few home truths will do his neighbors no harm.

---Attributed to George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright.

A man who is good enough to go to heaven, is good enough to be a clergyman.

---Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784) British lexicographer and writer I had explained that a woman's asking for equality in the church would be comparable to a black person's demanding equality in the Ku Klux Klan.

---Mary Daly (1928 - ) U.S. feminist and theologian. If people want a sense of purpose they should get it from their archbishop. They should certainly not get it from their politicians.

- --Harold Macmillan British prime minister Nobody but poor folks get happy in church.

---Richard Wright, U.S. novelist.

Introduction to the Text

1. Modern societies cannot do without banks. Banks keep, lend and issue money as well as offer many other financial services. They also help to regulate the economy with changes in interest rate and in money supply. However, traditionally, poor people and people who sympathize with them have regarded banks as evil, as enemies of the poor. Such suspicions and misgivings obviously still linger on. This article seems to prove that the prejudices of people like the author are ungrounded.

2. the author’s friend hates banks, saying that they act like churches. And the author obviously shares his friend’s vies. What they are trying to say here perhaps is that the bank is just an ordinary store; it must not act as if it represents Almighty God; it has no right to tell people what to do and what not to do.

3. This is basically an interesting anecdote with an unecdote with an unexpected ending. Don’t try to read too much into it morally. For oral practice, students are advised to turn the story into a short play and act it out.

Language points

1)happen to do: occur by chance, take place

She happened to be out when he called yesterday.

I happened to know something about medicine, so he could not fool me. happen: ---refer to accidental or unplanned event

occur: ---refer to accidental or unplanned event; more formal than happen

take place: suggest that an event is/was planned

2) in the first / second…place: ---firstly / secondly… used to introduce a series of points in an argument or to talk about what should have been done

I didn’t go because I didn’t have time in the first place. ( In the second place, I was not feeling very well.)

--- What did I say wrong?

--- You shouldn’t have told him in the first place!

in my / your… place: ---in my situation or circumstances

3)overlighted: --- having too much light

over-: ---above; outside; across

overcoat overhead overhang overall

---to excess; too much

overtime overeat over-rich overburden

overcharge overweight overstaffed overwhelm

4)fortyish: at about the age of forty

-ish: a).. reddish greenish bluish yellowish darkish brownish

b). foolish childish babyish boyish womanish snobbish

clownish

c). English Irish Polish Scottish Finnish Spanish

Swedish

d). selfish bookish

e). fiftyish fortyish (The suffix “ish” here means “approximately”

f). publish polish punish accomplish abolish astonish establish

5)mustache: hair on upper lip

beard: hair growing on man’s chin

goatee: short pointed beard

6)authority: powers to give orders and make others obey

Eg: The leader must be a person of authority.

--- person or group having the power to give orders or take actions

Eg: The health authority is investigating the matter.

--- person with special knowledge

Eg: She is an authority on phonetics.

6.more than(colloq.) ---very; extremely; beyond

They were more than willing to help.

Some of the stories were really more than could be believed.

more… than…:

The child was more frightened than hurt.

He always seemed old to me, more like a grandfather than a father.

7)no mere than-only; just

It cost me only $5 to buy the book.

Before long her white sails were no more than a speck upon the waters.

---the same as

He’s no more able to read Spanish than I am.

8)think twice about / doing sth: ---think carefully before deciding to do sth

You should think twice about employing someone you’ve never met.

Once bitten, twice shy.

---(saying) after an unpleasant experience one is careful to avoid sth similar Lightning never strike in the same place twice.

---(saying) an unusual event, or one that happens by chance, is not likely to occur again in the exactly the same circumstances or to the same people.

9)as to + whether : concerning / about / regarding

who

when

…

I can’t decide as to when we should start.

It’s still unclear as to whom this car belong to.

10)no… but to…:

He had no choice but to sell the house.

(do / did/ does) + no… but do:

I did nothing but follow the rules.

11)but:

one cannot / couldn’t but do sth: ---(fml) have to

I couldn’t but admit that he was right and I was wrong.

(negative word) + but + clause: ---without the result that

No man is so cruel but he may feel some pity.

but for sb / sth: --- without sb / sth

But for the rain, we would have had a nice holiday.

12) move in sth: --- live, be active, pass one’s time, etc. in a particular social group She always moves in the best circles.

move in for sth: --- become active in doing sth

I moved in for the kill.

move in on sb / sth: ---converge on sb / sth, esp. in a menacing way

The police moved in on the terrorists.

13)zero in on sb / sth:---aim guns, etc. at or find the range of ( a particular target)

--- fix attention on sb / sth; focus on sb / sth

We should zero in on the key issues for discussion

14)damn: adv. very

damn good / clever / well

Skill training

make up a story with “happen to do, in the first place, overlighted, authority, more than, think twice about, as to whet her, no…but to, one cannot but do, move in sth,.

zero in on sth, damn”

difficult sentences

1. passion: a strong feeling or emotion

2. a candy store or a grocery store

Candy store: a store which sells sweet food made of sugar or chocolate

Grocery store: AmE a store that sells food and other daily things used in the home; a supermarket.

3. The only difference is that a bank’s goods happen to be money which is yours in the first place.

Goods: (usually used in plural form) things produces in order to be sold

To happen to do/to be: to do/to be sth. by chance.

I happened to know something about medicine, so he could not fool me.

She happened to be away, so we did not see her.

When the fire broke out, I happened to be passing by.

In the first place: used to introduce a series of points in an argument or to talk about what should have been done, eg

a)I didn’t go because I didn’t have time in the first place. ( In the second place, I

was not feeling very well.)

b)--- What did I say wrong?

--- You shouldn’t have told him in the first place!

c)--- I didn’t know the quality was so poor.

--- You shouldn’t have bought it in the first place.

4. If banks were required to sell wallets and money belts, they might act less like churches.

The word “churches”has certain associations. People usually think of it as the spokesman of God, as a powerful organization that controls your life and can interfere in your lives. Therefore the author thins it is ridiculous for bands to act like churches. wallet: a small flat case man carry in their pocket, for holding money (purse”is usually for women)

money-belt: wallet fastened to the belt

5. …a small, overlighted branch office on the west side.

Overlighted: too brightly-lit , having too much light

branch office: 分行，支行，营业所

6. I had come to open a checking account.

For the definition of “ checking account”, see Notes to the Text of this lesson.

To open an account: Draw students’attention to some common collocations of “account”: to open an account, to close an account, to settle an account, etc.